Methods and systems for inventory management

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to inventory management solutions, and in particular, to methods and systems for inventorying items over wireless and data networks, using digital imaging, positioning, and data terminals. The user experience in performing inventory management is simplified and enhanced over existing methods.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/008,320, filed Jan. 18, 2011 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,962,485, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/109,745, filed Apr. 25,2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,899,823, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 7,899,823,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED R&D

Not applicable.

PARTIES OF JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to inventory management using digitalimaging, wireless communications, and voice and data networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Homeowners would find it useful to have an organized record of theirbelongings. This organized record can be used in the event of anemergency. For example, an organized list can be used to file aninsurance claim in the event of a burglary or a fire. An organized listwith appropriate beneficiary assignments can also be used in personalestate planning.

Getting homeowners (homeowners in this document includes renters) tocreate a list of their belongings, and keep it updated, is difficult.Conventionally, homeowners have relied upon a combination of paperlists, receipts, and their memory to recreate a comprehensive list oftheir personal property after a disaster. In some cases, particularlywith the advent of digital photography, homeowners have captured imagesof the items or personal property in their homes. More recently,software programs have been introduced (e.g., Quicken's Home InventoryManager) to facilitate the list capture and organization process.

Even with recent advances, homeowner inventory management continues tobe tedious and time consuming. Consequently, very few homeowners createan inventory of their belongings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Example embodiments listed simplify the data capture, organization, andsecure storage of a personal property owner's list of belongings. Inaddition, embodiments are described facilitating the insurance claimsprocess, reducing the cost to the insurance industry of claimsmanagement.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide methods andsystems to enable a service provider to offer Home Inventory servicesthat allow subscribers to store a collection of objects (e.g., photosand photo renditions). Certain methods and systems described hereinprovide for the creation of a rendition of a user's residence. Theserenditions are optionally used to organize objects/items of interest tothe user and are readily accessible to the user from various devicesover various networks. The data/objects are retained indefinitely (orfor an extended or designated period of time) in a reliable, secure, andaccessible database and/or data store. In an example embodiment, this isachieved with large redundant data farms with geographic separation,using Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disk (RAID) technology,distributed peer-to-peer redundant data storage and/or other techniques.These objects of interest to the user are optionally updated as the usermakes new acquisitions, sells, donates, and/or disposes of theirpersonal property.

Certain methods and systems described herein provide for the separationof items within an image in the context of a Home Inventory system.Separable items from an image can be categorized or labeled usingcomputer assisted pattern recognition techniques (e.g., pattern matchinga lamp against a stored dictionary of household items). The terms, “forexample”, “e.g.”, “optionally”, as used herein, are intended to be usedto introduce non-limiting examples. Optionally, Home Inventory serviceprovider personnel can enhance the separation and identification processby auditing the output from the recognizer and making any necessarycorrections.

Assigning labels to items helps the subscriber organize and search theirpersonal property. In addition, labels can be used to categorize itemtypes and their value. Determining value of household items has certainadvantages for the user as compared to only providing a list or aninventory of photos. For example, labeled items with underlying valuescan help a user determine if s/he is over or under insured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawingssummarized below. These drawings and the associated description areprovided to illustrate example embodiments of the invention, and not tolimit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network operating environment for a HomeInventory system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example operating environment/process for a HomeInventory system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a continuation of the example operatingenvironment/process for a Home Inventory system.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example user interface presented using a browser.The example interface enables a user to create/register a new account orto login to an existing account.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example user interface presented using a browser.The example interface enables a user to register a new account for aHome Inventory system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example user interface presented on a mobiledevice. The example interface enables a user to select a first locationto inventory items.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user interface presented on a mobiledevice. The example interface enables a user to assign a name to a firstlocation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example user interface presented on a mobiledevice. The example interface facilitates the capture of geographiccoordinates for a location.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example user interface presented on a mobiledevice. The example interface visually tracks the number of images for alocation.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example user interface presented on a mobiledevice. The example interface enables a user to select a next location.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example photo item map rendered by a HomeInventory system using an image taken by a user.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example photo item map with item labels generatedby a Home Inventory system.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example photo item line drawing with item labelsgenerated by a Home Inventory system.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example gridded plot of a user's room locationsgenerated by an example Home Inventory system.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example rendition of a user's floor plangenerated by an example Home Inventory system.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example side view drawing of elevation levels ofa user's residence generated by an example Home Inventory system.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example login user interface presented to areturning user of the Home Inventory system.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example welcome page and web display of a user'sfloor plan.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example web display of the contents of a locationin a tabular list view.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example web display of an image taken by a userand a rendition of the image created by a Home Inventory system. Theexample includes an item map and labels assigned by a Home Inventorysystem to individual items.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example web display of a second rendition of animage taken by a user. In this example rendition, generic line drawingshave replaced outlined items.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example web display enabling a user to editfields to provide additional information regarding an item in an image.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example web display enabling a user to attachadditional information about an item in an image, including a scannedreceipt or warranty contract.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The methods and systems of the present invention simplify and enhancehome inventory data capture, organization, and secure storage.

Glossary

Homeowner—an individual or family who rents or owns a residence and ownspersonal property.

Web Site or Web is a term used throughout the following description. Itis used to refer to a user-accessible network site that implements thebasic World Wide Web standards for the coding and transmission ofhypertext documents. These standards currently include HTML (theHypertext Markup Language) and HTTP (the Hypertext Transfer Protocol).It should be understood that the term “site” is not intended to imply asingle geographic location, as a Web or other network site can, forexample, include multiple geographically distributed computer systemsthat are appropriately linked together. Furthermore, while the followingdescriptions relates to an embodiment utilizing the Internet and relatedprotocols, other networks and other protocols may be used as well.

Phone Identifier—Further, while the following description refers toexample networks and telephony standards and protocols, other standardsand protocols can be used as well. The term phone Identifier (phone ID)can include a Session Initiation Protocal (SIP) address, a Skype address(or other peer-to-peer Internet telephony network address), a wirelessphone number, an International number, an E.164 phone number, atElephone Number Mapping (ENUM) address, a Mobile Equipment IDentifier(MEID), an International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI), anElectronic Serial Number (ESN), or other telephony address. Whilecertain phone identifiers are referenced for purposes of illustration,other electronic addresses or locators can be used as well.

Image—while the following refers to images or pictures of personalproperty, the term should not be limited to photographic images takenfrom a mobile device. Images include for example scanned images,facsimiles, video, digital camera images, and other optical imagecapture which can be used to photograph items and transmit the images orpictures electronically.

Rendition—A rendition is an alternate (usually simplified) view oforiginal information. Examples include line drawings derived fromphotographs and floor plans created from lists of room GPS coordinates.

In addition, while references may be made to the use of a mobile phoneas an image capture device, other electronic image capture devices,e.g., a digital camera can be used as well.

Unless otherwise indicated, the functions described herein may beperformed by executable code and instructions stored in computerreadable medium and running on one or more processor-based systems.However, state machines, and/or hardwired electronic circuits can alsobe utilized. Further, with respect to the example processes describedherein, not all the process states need to be reached, nor do the stateshave to be performed in the illustrated order. Further, certain processstates that are illustrated as being serially performed can be performedin parallel.

Similarly, while certain examples may refer to a personal computersystem or data device, other computer or electronic systems can be usedas well, such as, without limitation, an interactive television, anetwork-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA), a network gameconsole, a networked entertainment device, a smart phone (e.g., with anoperating system and on which a user can install applications) and soon. While certain references are made to certain example systemcomponents or services, other components and services can be used aswell and/or the example components can be combined into fewer componentsand/or divided into further components.

In addition, while certain user inputs or gestures are described asbeing provided via phone key presses, data entry via a keyboard, or byclicking a computer mouse or button, optionally, user inputs can beprovided using other techniques, such as by voice or otherwise. Theexample screen layouts, appearance, and terminology as depicted anddescribed herein, are intended to be illustrative and exemplary, and inno way limit the scope of the invention as claimed.

Some or all of the information and functionality provided by the userinterfaces discussed can be provided by a widget or a gadget. A widgetcan be in the form of portable code that can be installed and executedwithin a Web page (e.g. an HTML-based web page) by an end user withoutrequiring additional compilation. By way of illustration, a widget canbe in the form of a window (with or without a border) with a particularappearance and behavior, a text box, a media player, etc. A widget canoptionally accept and process user inputs. A gadget is equivalent to awidget that works in a Google framework. Other types of applications canbe used as well to provide the functionality of a widget or gadget.

The functionality, operation, and implementation for an example homeinventory management service will now be described in further detail.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example Home Inventory system 900 that can be usedin accordance with the present invention. As illustrated, the HomeInventory system includes a plurality of user mobile phones 200. Themobile phones 200 are connected to a wireless telephony and data network300. Optionally, the mobile phones 200 are capable of receiving one ormore software applications over a wireless network 300. Optionally, themobile phones 200 are capable of taking pictures and these pictures canbe downloaded over a wireless network 300 and/or data network 400 to aserver 600. Optionally, web server 600 offloads image and speechprocessing to Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Servers 550 to assist inidentifying items within pictures and with transcription of audiodescriptions of items. Live operators can also serve to assist and/orreplace the DSP servers 550 in carrying out these services.

As further illustrated, the Home Inventory system interacts with aplurality of computer terminals 100. The computer terminals 100 can be apersonal computer having a monitor, keyboard, a disk drive, and a datacommunication interface. In addition, the computer terminal 100 can bean interactive television, a networked-enabled personal digitalassistant (PDA) or the like. The computer terminals 100 are connected toa data network 400 (e.g., the Internet or a corporate LAN or WAN).

In an example embodiment, a downloadable, application software program800 connects to and communicates with a phone server 500 and a webserver 600 either directly via the wireless network 300 or indirectly bylinking the wireless network 300 with the data network 400. Theapplication program 800, executing on a subscriber's mobile phone 200 orother host, can interact with the optical scanning capabilities of themobile phone to receive an image or the content of an image. Optionally,the application program 800 can be used to transmit data to the HomeInventory system 900 (e.g., by transmitting a message over theInternet). Optionally, the application program 800 can make the user'sonline presence known to the Home Inventory system 900 (e.g., byperiodically transmitting a message over the Internet to the HomeInventory system 900). Optionally, the application program 800 can beused to receive and store in a computer readable medium a password fromthe user. For example, the user invokes the application (if theapplication is not already active) and enters a password (e.g., by keypressing or speaking a password). Optionally, the application program800 can be used to receive and store in a computer readable medium acopy of a password from a Home Inventory service provider 600 that theuser has previously registered with. For example, the Home Inventorysystem transmits a message over a wireless data connection to theapplication program 600 or via a Short Message Service (SMS). SMS is awireless messaging service that enables the transmission of messagesbetween mobile subscribers (and their phones) and external systems suchas electronic mail services. Optionally, the application program 800 candisplay user instructions, status, success, and failure messages to theuser. Optionally, the application program 800 provides a user interfacethrough which a user can enter data and/or respond to messages.Optionally, the application programs functional capabilities can beintegrated into and can be a part of another application (e.g., atelecommunications client or a contact management client).

The Home Inventory Servers 500, 550, and 600 are interconnected eitherthrough Data Network 400 (e.g. the public Internet—as depicted by thedotted line connections in FIG. 1) or via a private Local Area Network(LAN) or private Wide Area Network (WAN) 450—as shown by the dashed lineconnections in FIG. 1.

The Home Inventory system 900 in this example contains centralizeddatabases and/or general-purpose storage area, optionally including, butnot limited to, some or all of the following: a customer database 700,an image store, a dictionary of item image patterns and labels.

The Home Inventory system in this example contains a phone serversubsystem 500 with call processing capabilities. These serversoptionally provide interactive voice response, voice messaging, voicerecognition, text-to-speech services and voice message transcription tonatural-language text.

The Home Inventory system in this example contains a subsystem forcreating a rendition of the user's residence. The subsystem receives acollection of locations and geographic data points (e.g., GPScoordinates) and optionally combines this with a database of otheroptional inputs (e.g. typical bedroom sizes, age of residence, city andcounty codes, user demographics, etc) to create floor plan renditions.These floor plan renditions can be used to help organize item/personproperty information received from the user.

The Home Inventory system in this example contains a subsystem for itemrecognition. The subsystem can perform pattern recognition by comparingitems in an image against a database of item templates, and/or othertechniques and/or algorithms (e.g., from simple Bayesian classifiers ormore powerful neural networks). The subsystem includes various programsand/or devices including some or all of the following and/or additionaland/or different programs and/or devices: a control program whichsubmits photo images/files to an internal or independent device (e.g., adedicated device including hardware and/or software) specialized forpattern recognition, and receives back a text file that consists of oneor more labels/categorizations together with a set of valuesrepresenting probability or confidence values relating to the itemrecognition and other features. Optionally, the item recognizer uses adifferent recognizer engine and/or item database/dictionary based onuser specific characteristics including but not limited to: thegeographic region of the user (e.g., determined from the user's mobilephone identifier and/or GPS coordinates); the location within ageographic region (e.g., city, rural, downtown); language; demographics,psychographics, etc. Optionally, the item recognizer can be personalizedor tuned based on direct feedback from a user (e.g., user selecting adifferent name/label for an item) or indirect feedback (e.g., user itemsearch requests). Optionally, the item recognizer can provide real-timeand/or delayed feedback to the user regarding the quality of the image(e.g., to determine whether the user might need to retake one or moreimages) and whether the characteristics of the image environment need tobe improved (e.g., enhanced lighting).

Optionally, the item recognizer can provide real-time feedback to theuser regarding the items in an image. For example, a call can be placedto the user's mobile device 200 as s/he is taking pictures of a room andusing text-to-speech play back a list of items, as recognized by theHome Inventory system, in the current room/location. Alternatively, alist of items can be downloaded from the Home Inventory system to theuser's mobile device in near real-time for visual preview ortext-to-speech playback from the handset. Optionally, the user canretake an image to improve the recognizer results. Alternatively, a userinterface can optionally be provided (e.g., a screen-based userinterface on the user's handset) to edit the real-time output producedby the recognizer (which optionally can be located on the user's handsetor in a remote server connected over a wireless/data network).

In addition, the item recognizer may optionally use an underlyingstatistical model of the location of items in an image and/or the typeof room (e.g. bathroom versus bedroom) to determine an identity of anitem. For example, a picture is likely to be an item located in theupper half of an image whereas a rug would likely be in the lowerportion of an image.

In addition, the item recognition system can pass the input image andassociated output text file to a human for review for corrections andfor improvements of accuracy. The Home Inventory system can furtheranalyze the behavior of users when using or searching. The system maydetermine that users preferentially search or tend to search onparticular items that represent important personal property (e.g., flatscreen television). The system may use this information to prioritizethe item identification of these items, to increase or decreaseacceptable confidence levels, and/or to focus human review on theseimportant aspects.

The Home Inventory system 900 optionally assists the user (or serviceprovider personnel) by marking labels/names of items in the output whoseidentification is of low certainty or confidence. Low certainty canresult from many sources including poor image lighting, items clumpedtogether, items without a distinctive shape, etc.

In an example embodiment, the marking of low confidence/certainty issignaled to the user by a variety of textual modifications to theassigned label including, by way of example: inserting a qualifier suchas “?” before (and/or after) the best label candidate; offering two ormore candidate labels (e.g. picture/flat screen television);typographical modifications such as italics, color, highlighting, etc;and/or other indicators. Optionally, the number of low certainty labelsmay cause the output to be routed to humans for review and/or manualitem recognition.

The user interfaces for access to the stored/archived information areoptionally device specific. By way of example, the user interface for acomputer may be provided via a widget/gadget, a more traditional webportal, and/or an executable client. For a handset, the interaction isoptionally tailored to the available display space and interactionmechanism, where the functionality is similar although optionallyreduced in scope. For example, for a handset, certain logos, menus,images, and the like can be reduced in relative size or eliminated.

The Home Inventory system 900 optionally includes a CustomerRelationship Management (CRM) subsystem. The CRM engine can mine certaininformation with respect to a user associated with the usage of the HomeInventory system. For example, the Home Inventory system can promotecertain insurance policies/companies based on the number of items,appraised value of the user's items, and/or location information.Another example, the Home Inventory system can detect the lack of acertain item and promote to the user those missing items.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an example workflow of a new user registrationand software installation process and ongoing user operation of a HomeInventory system described in detail later in this document. Processstates are listed on the left and major elements of the operatingenvironment of FIG. 1 are listed across the top. Using solid lines witharrows to signify the direction of information flow, the diagrampictorially represents process flow and interactions between theelements in an example embodiment. Dashed lines depict optionalinformation flow/interactions between the elements.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example Home Inventory system home page userinterface 4000 presented via a browser (or other interface application)to a user. The browser can be, by way of example executing on a computerterminal 100, such as a personal computer, a Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) or browser-enabled phone, a PDA or the like. The web pagecan optionally be accessed by supplying the appropriate Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) to the browser 4100, by selecting a link in response to asearch query, or the like. The example user interface includes links forother information services 4400. The example user interface alsoincludes a link for existing customers to login 4200 and a link for newcustomers to register 4300. Upon user selection of the New CustomerRegistration pull down menu link 4300, an additional menu pane 5500 isdisplayed. As illustrated in FIG. 5, this pane 5500 includes a nameentry field 5510, a mobile phone number entry field 5520, a passwordentry field 5530, a yes or no radio button 5540 to specify if theresidence has more than one level, and a number of residence levelsfield 5550 which becomes illuminated when the yes radio button 5540 hasbeen specified. Lastly, the interface includes a download now button5560, which when clicked by the user, causes the entered information tobe transmitted to the web server 600 over the data network 400 foradditional processing.

Once the information is received by the web server 600 the receivedphone number and/or identifier is authenticated. Optionally, a textmessage with a unique password is sent to the user which must be enteredat the web site before proceeding. In another example, a call processingsystem places a call to the user and the user is requested to confirmtheir registration request. In yet another example, the Home Inventorysystem includes access to other databases for additional levels of userauthentication. For example, the Home Inventory system accesses nameinformation from an SS7 Caller Name (CNAM) database and the hostingtelecommunications carrier from the SS7 Local Number Portabilitydatabase. The accessible information optionally includes phoneidentification information (e.g., from an SS7 LIDB (Line InformationData Base) or ENUM (Telephone Number Mapping) database). Optionally, thesystem queries the mobile device provisioning database of the hostingtelecommunications carrier to determine the make and model of the user'scell phone and from this determine if the mobile device has cameracapabilities. Alternatively, the user may have to specify whether themobile device is camera capable during or following the registrationsteps.

In this example, upon successful authentication, a user account iscreated in the user account database 700 and the information transmittedfrom the user is stored in the database.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example mobile device 200 user interface screen6000 displayed by software application program 800. The user interfacescreens can be presented via a custom software application or by way ofa browser or the like. The screen presents a list of locations 6100which can be scrolled through by the user. In this example userinterface, items can be selected via a double click or by scrolling tothe item of interest and selecting the “next” control 6300. The userselection is optionally stored by the application program 800 and/ortransmitted to web server 600 over the wireless network 300 and/or datanetwork 400. In this example user interface, the screen has a “help”section 6400 which provides the user with additional instructions.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example mobile device 200 user interfacescreen 7000 displayed by software application program 800. The screenenables the user to customize the name of a location via a data entryfield 7100. After a name is entered, the user advances to the nextscreen by selecting the “next” control 7300 (optionally no name isprovided by the user). Optionally, the name and location (determinedfrom the previous screen) entered by the user are transmittedsubstantially immediately to the web server 600 over the wirelessnetwork 300 and/or data network 400. Optionally, the selected locationand entered name are temporarily stored on the mobile device andtransmitted at a later period such as at the end of the user session orlater. Optionally, an identifier (e.g., the user's mobile device phonenumber or other uniquely assigned identifier) and/or password areincluded in the transmission to the web server 600. The location andname are stored in the user account database 700. In this example userinterface, the screen has a “back” control 7200 which when activatedtransitions the user to the previous viewed screen. Lastly, this exampleuser interface also includes a “help” section 7400 which provides theuser with additional instructions.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example mobile device 200 user interfacescreen 8000 generated by software application program 800. In thisexample, the screen assists in the capture of the Global PositioningSystem (GPS) Coordinates of the current location. (Although GPS is usedin this example, other methods of location identification could be used,e.g., cell tower triangulation). The user advances to the next screen byselecting the “next” control 8300. As is discussed in additional detailbelow, when the user selects “next”, the application program 800 queriesfor the GPS coordinates of the current location. These coordinates aretransmitted substantially immediately to the web server 600 over thewireless network 300 and/or data network 400. Optionally, the GPScoordinates are temporarily stored on the mobile device and transmittedat a later period such as at the end of the user session or later.Optionally, the GPS information is encrypted. Optionally, a time anddate stamp is recorded and/or transmitted with each set of GPScoordinates/Location information.

Optionally, an identifier (e.g., the user's mobile device phone numberor other uniquely assigned identifier) and/or password is included inthe transmission to the web server 600. The selected location, GPScoordinates, and/or time are stored in the user account database 700. Inthis example user interface, the screen has a “back” control 8200 whichwhen activated transitions the user to the previously viewed screen.Lastly, this example user interface includes a “help” section 8400 whichprovides the user with additional instructions.

As discussed later in the document, the location information isoptionally used by the Home Inventory system to create a floor plan ofthe user's residence for web-site navigation. This location informationis not limited to this single purpose. For example, the locationinformation can be used to query real estate databases to determine theestimated value of a user's residence.

In another embodiment, the location information and/or date/time can beused by an insurance company to prevent fraud. In this example, aninsurance inspector can query the HI database 700 to use the locationand/or time/date information to confirm the personal propertyinventoried belongs to an individual (or at least was photographed at agiven location) at the time of purchasing the insurance policy. Thelocation information could also be used in conjunction with otherapplications and databases.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example mobile device 200 user interfacescreen 9000 displayed by software application program 800. The softwareprogram 800 interfaces with the camera capabilities of the mobile deviceand the screen tracks the number of pictures 9100 taken at a givenlocation. Optionally, a geographic location (e.g., GPS coordinates) andtime/date is recorded with each picture/image. This location informationcan be used to enhance the floor plan rendition described below. Inaddition, the software application 800 user interface can optionallyinstruct the user to take pictures from different positions in aroom/location. For example, the software program can instruct the userto take the first four pictures in a room/location with the user's backagainst each wall in order for the Home Inventory system to betterascertain the rooms/locations boundaries.) In this example, a usersignifies the completion of the photography session at a given locationand advances to the next screen by selecting the “next” control 9300.Optionally, the location, picture(s), and time/date taken by the userare transmitted substantially immediately to the web server 600 over thewireless network 300 and/or data network 400. Alternatively, the entereddata is temporarily stored on the mobile device and transmitted at alater period such as at the end of the user session or later.Optionally, an identifier (e.g., the user's mobile device phone numberor other uniquely assigned identifier) and/or a password are included inthe transmission to the web server 600. The picture(s), locationinformation, and/or time/date are stored in the user account database700. In this example user interface, the screen has a “back” control9200 which when activated transitions the user to the previous screen.Optionally, a warning message is displayed to the user if the userselects the “back” control that any images of the current location willbe lost. Optionally, a different warning message is displayed promptingthe caller to save or delete images of the current location. Lastly,this example user interface includes a “help” section 9400 whichprovides the user with additional instructions.

FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 6. In this example, a mobile device 200 userinterface screen 10000 is displayed by software application program 800once a user has completed imaging a location. If the user selects the“finish” control 10350, the application program 800 begins or completesthe transmission of any remaining user selections, locations names,geographic location coordinates, time/date, and images to the web server600 over the wireless network 300 and/or data network 400. Optionally,an identifier and/or password are included in the transmission.Optionally, a notice is displayed to the user that the application isclosing and the application is terminated.

The screen optionally presents a list of next locations 10100 to beimaged. In this example user interface, items can be selected via adouble click or by scrolling to the item of interest and selecting the“next” control 10300. The user selection is optionally stored by theapplication program 800 and/or transmitted to web server 600 over thewireless network 300 and/or data network 400. In this example userinterface, the screen has a “help” section 10400 which provides the userwith additional instructions.

Upon receipt of the room photo images, the Home Inventory system 900creates an initial list of items depicted in each photo. Manual and/orautomatic methods of item separation and identification are usedincluding a combination of image filtering, color change detection, itemoutline detection, etc. FIG. 11 illustrates an example item map 11000rendered from a user's photo image by the HI system 900. An outline ofeach item (11310, 11320, 11330, and 11340) is depicted along with asequentially number item name. The original photo label 11200 is alsodepicted on the rendition. This will later be used to enable users toview location images and append additional information with each item inan image.

Optionally, the Home Inventory system next uses pattern recognitiontechniques in combination with a predefined library of household itemsto label each item in the selected item map. For example, in FIG. 12,the Home Inventory system attaches the label “lamp” 12310 to outline11310 in FIG. 11. Similarly, the outlines 11320 and 11330 in FIG. 11 arelabeled Area Rug 12320 and Loveseat 12330 respectively in FIG. 12.Lastly, the outline 11340 in FIG. 11 is labeled ?Picture? 12340 in FIG.12 where the “?” delimiters signify that the image recognition algorithmhas not been able to make a good match and recommends that the user (orservice provider) more closely review the associated label 12340. Insome cases the recognizer may not even be able to suggest a label andwould flag the unknown label with a “?item <number>?” designation. Theselabels can be accepted or rejected by a user by selecting the designatedlabel and renaming the item. These user edits are downloaded to the HomeInventory system and stored in the customer database 700. In addition,user edits are used to train the recognizer to improve the overallaccuracy of the Home Inventory system. Optionally, the label attached toitems by the recognizer is initially distinguished from items named bythe user (e.g., by using italics or {brackets} to designate usermodifications). Optionally, only those items with a configurable, lowconfidence value, from the recognizer are identified as tentative ortemporary. Optionally, the recognizer may have difficulty determiningwhether the object is an item A or B. In this case, the Home Inventorysystem might display two labeled items with question marks. For example,In FIG. 12, the Home Inventory system might display item 12340 as label“?Picture? or ?TV? ” (as in flat screen television) and prompt the userto choose one. Optionally, there is a picture map pallet 21400 (see FIG.21) which guides the user in the labeling of items.

Optionally, the Home Inventory system transmits or makes available tolive operators the results of the image item recognition step. The liveoperators can optionally audit the results and/or make changes to thelabels assigned by the Home Inventory system before the Home Inventorysystem makes the results available to a user. Thereby, further enhancingthe quality of the system performance. As described above, any changesby the live operators and/or end user can be used to further improve thequality of the item recognizer. In an alternative embodiment, the entireprocess is performed by live operators including separating items withinthe image, identifying and labeling each item, replacing the identifieditem outline with an appropriate generic line drawing of the item, andreviewing/auditing the resultant image rendition for accuracy andclarity.

Optionally the user requests the Home Inventory system replace the itemoutline rendition 12000 with a generic line drawing version 13000 of theitems in the photo (see FIG. 13). The user can configure their serviceto automatically perform this step or wait for user interface gesturesto change the presentation between these two alternate views.

Labels and drawings of the user's personal property improve the overallquality of the system as perceived by the user. Furthermore, labelingitems allows the Home Inventory system to create or query an externaldatabase for appraisal and replacement value of equivalent items.

In addition, in some instances the recognizer is not able to distinguishcertain items from other items in the image in order to create theoptional outline view. Optionally, editing tools are provided to enablethe user to edit the rendition. For example, new lines can be added andexisting lines extended to separate items. Optionally, lines can beerased to couple multiple items together. Optionally, multiple items canbe joined (e.g., by selecting multiple items with the shift key helddown) into a single item. Optionally, the user can replace items fromthe list of pallet items. Optionally, the user can define their ownpallet item. Optionally, a user can toggle between an enlarged view ofthe actual image and a reduced view of the rendition whereby the imagerendition is displayed in the thumbnail and the actual image isdisplayed in the larger area of the web page.

In this example, upon completion of user entry of room photos andassociated locations, the Home Inventory system 900 stores theinformation in the database 700 and creates a plot 14000 of the roomcenter points on a 10′×10′ grid 14100 (see FIG. 14). Recordedinformation includes the room label 14210, the room center point marking14220, and the room center point coordinates 14230 relative to the 0′×0′origin 14100 of the grid.

The HI system 900 then creates a floor plan of the user's residence fromthe room center point plot above. FIG. 15 illustrates an example floorplan 15000 generated by the Home Inventory system using the locationsselected by a user from their mobile device 200 and the GPS coordinates(or other geographic location information) received at the web server600.

The rendition of a user's residence is created, by example, using acombination of user selected locations together with the downloaded GPScoordinates (or other geographic location information). As described inthe state flow below, a user centers himself/herself in a room andenters a gesture on mobile device 200 which causes their current GPScoordinates to be downloaded to the Home Inventory system 900. The HomeInventory system uses the collection of coordinates downloaded to createan initial rendition. The Home Inventory system may end up with a verysimplistic rendition if the user only selects bedroom locations.However, more rooms, hallways, bathrooms, patio, garage, etc. selectedby the user and downloaded with GPS coordinates allows the HomeInventory system to improve the floor plan rendition. In addition,certain characteristics of the location selected by the user can be usedto position and/or size a room/element in the rendition. For example,the size of bathrooms can be estimated to be one-quarter the size of anassociated bedroom. In another example, a bathroom situated between twobedrooms can be interpreted to be a Jack-And-Jill bathroom with slightlylarger dimensions than a traditional bathroom. A collection ofheuristics including location area, age of the residence, city andcounty codes, etc. can be used as input into the Home Inventory system900 to improve the quality of the generated rendition. In addition,other geographic location data points (e.g., associated with images) canbe used to further enhance the quality of the rendition. Optionally, agraphics editing package can be incorporated in the Home Inventorysystem enabling users to further enhance the drawing (e.g., resize androtate rooms, modify layout, etc.).

FIG. 16 illustrates an example side view of the user's residence 16000created by the Home Inventory system. In this example, the userdesignated a single level residence during registration and selectedbasement 16100 and attic 16300 locations during the location and imagingsteps (e.g., if the user selects the line items basement and/or attic inthe locations list 10100 in FIG. 10 the Home Inventory system adds theseelements to the side view).

FIG. 17 illustrates an example login user interface 17000 presented viaa browser (or other interface application) to a user. The browser canbe, by way of example executing on a computer terminal 100, such as apersonal computer, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) orbrowser-enabled phone, a PDA or the like. The login/registration webpage can optionally be accessed by supplying the appropriate URL 17100to the browser, by selecting a link in response to a search query, orthe like. In this example, the returning user can reach this web page byselecting the current customer login control 4200 shown in FIG. 4. Theexample user login pull down menu pane 17300 includes a mobile phonenumber entry field 17310 and a password entry field 17320. When a userclicks on the Sign In control 17330, the entered mobile number andpassword are transmitted to the web server 600 over the data network 400for authentication.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example rendition of a user's residence 18000presented via a browser (or other interface application) after the userhas completed a series of imaging and location selection steps andsuccessfully logged in as described in FIG. 3 states 21-24. The HomeInventory system side view 18100 of the residence is displayed in theleft side of the page. An illustration of the top view of the groundlevel floor 18200 generated by the Home Inventory system is displayed inthe center to right hand side of the page. The user can change the mainview in this example from attic, to ground level, to basement byselecting the named areas in the side view 18100. In addition, in thisexample, each of the locations identified on the top view floor plan ofthe selected elevation level (in this example, the ground level) is anactive URL/link that can be clicked through to display another web pagewhich provides a user interface to organize items at that selectedlocation. For example, selecting the link representing Luke's Bedroom18210 displays a listing of the items currently inventoried there (seeFIG. 19 and its description below). Optionally, the Home Inventorysystem presents additional other views 18300. For example, the HomeInventory system could present an ordered list of locations.

Additionally, the web page 18000 also includes a search capability 18400to further assist the user navigation to view selected inventorydetails. The user enters search terms in the search key word field 18410and then clicks either the Room Search button 18420, the Item Searchbutton 18430, or the General Search button 18440 (for a default searchthrough all customer records). Each user account includes a personalizedsearch term dictionary linked to their account in the customer HIdatabase 700. This personal dictionary is initially populated withdefault parameters from a global system wide dictionary when the accountis first registered. As the user creates new item names, the personaldictionary is automatically updated. Room and photo names/labels arealso entered into the personal dictionary. The Home Inventory system 900periodically (e.g., daily) mines personal user dictionaries to refinethe global dictionary contents.

FIG. 19 illustrates another example user interface 19000 presented via abrowser (or other interface application). This user interface enables auser to further enumerate and itemize their household belongings. Inthis example, this user interface is accessed by a user selecting alocation, such as Luke's Bedroom 18210 from FIG. 18. A tabbed userinterface 19100 is shown in FIG. 19 although other user interfaces canbe used. Optionally, other tabs across the top include all of thelocations (depending upon the number of locations), or the higher-levelabstraction of the different floor levels.

Labels of the camera images 19200 for each room are listed for the user.In this example, a default name is assigned to each image; LocationPict1 for the first camera image taken by the user, Location Pict2 forthe second camera image, etc. Optionally, the user can edit the imagename. In this example, the user has selected Location Pict2 and theitems within the image are listed. Each image contains no items, oneitem, or multiple items. A user can edit the labels/names 19420 andnumber of items associated with an image as will be described in furtherdetail below. In this example, each item within an image can also beassigned an actual or estimated purchase price value. A user can assignan original purchase price and/or estimate the current dollar value ofan item 19430. In addition, a user can associate a beneficiary 19440 toeach listed item. Lastly, in this example, a user can attach a scannedin receipt, warranty contract, and/or other forms of notes for an item19450. The user selects the field corresponding to the item or picturein the receipts column 19450 and then requests to specify the path nameor browse to the scanned in receipt. In this example, the specified fileis downloaded from the user's PC across the data network 400 and storedin the user account database 700.

An image is not required to create a list of items for a location. Inthis example, four camera images were captured for “Luke's” bedroom.Optionally, the user can manually type in a list of items for “Luke's”bedroom.

In this example web presentation, each of the labeled images has anassociated URL 19200 to the image and an image item listminimize[−]/maximize[+] button 19300. The list of image items isdisplayed when in the maximized[+] mode and is suppressed when in theminimized[−] mode. Clicking on the image label causes the stored imageto be displayed to the user.

FIG. 20 illustrates another example user interface 20000 presented via abrowser (or other interface application). This example user interfaceenables a user to view location images and append additional informationwith each item in an image. Optionally, other manual or automaticmethods of item separation and identification can be used including acombination of image filtering, color change detection, item outlinedetection, etc.

In this example illustration, the web page contains three majorelements: a thumbnail view of the actual image 20100, the photo title orlabel 20200 assigned to the image, and an outlined rendition of thelabeled items in the camera image 20300 (the elements 20310, 20320,20330, and 20340 and associated item labels 20315, 20325, 20335, and20345). The item outline rendition is a processed image by the HomeInventory system wherein individual items become individual elements ofthe picture with each element having an associated item outline and itemlabel with an associated clickable link. In this example embodiment, theindividual elements appear in the rendition as outlined items. Forexample, in FIG. 20, image processing and link embedding techniques areapplied to create an image rendition which includes four separate items:item 1 (the lamp) 20310, item 2 (the area rug) 20320, item 3 (theloveseat) 20330, and item 4 (the picture) 20340.

Optionally the user requests the Home Inventory system change thedisplay from the item outline rendition to a generic line drawingversion of the photo image. The system could automatically replace theitems after a user modifies a label, upon entry to the web page, or inresponse to the user selecting a web control option such as 20500 inFIG. 20. FIG. 21 illustrates the resultant view 21000 in which all ofthe outlined items have been replaced with generic template drawings tofurther enhance the rendition. For example, in FIG. 21, the HomeInventory system replaces the outline 20310 in FIG. 20 with a genericdrawn lamp 21310. Similarly, the outlines 20320-20340 in FIG. 20 arereplaced with generic drawn items Area Rug 21320, Loveseat 21330, andPicture 21340 respectively. The user can return to the item outline view20000 by clicking the Change Display to Item Outlines button 21500.

FIG. 22 illustrates another example user interface 22000 presented via abrowser (or other interface application). This example user interfaceenables a user to select an item within a picture rendition and includeadditional information about the item. This example web page waspresented in response to a user clicking on the “Loveseat” item link21335 in FIG. 21.

In this example, the pop-up web form 22000 prompts the user to enter astructured set of information. The user can enter a name or title 22010for the item. The user can enter an item value 22030 (e.g., the purchaseprice). The user can designate a beneficiary for the item 22040. Theuser can also attach a purchase receipt or warranty to the item asdescribed below. In this example, there is also a note field 22050 forgeneral information to be detailed by the user about the selected item.Optionally, the user can change the location 22020 by retyping a newlocation and/or selecting from a menu list of locations (e.g., when anitem is moved from one room to another).

Optionally, to simplify the data capture user experience, the user canspeak the information related to the item rather than manually enteringthe information. In this example, the user can select the phone icon22200 which can optionally invoke the software program 800 running onthe mobile device 200 and visually prompt the user to speak informationrelated to the items (e.g., item name, item value, etc.) The recordedspeech is downloaded to the network-based server 600 over the wirelessnetwork 300 and/or data network 400. Automatic speech recognitiontechniques and/or transcription operators can convert the speech totext. The text is stored in the customer data base 700 and optionallydisplayed to the user through a web interface (or the software program800 on the mobile device) for final approval and/or editing. Optionally,selecting the phone icon 22200 can cause a call to be placed to theuser's cell phone. From this point, an interactive voice responsesession occurs between the user and the network-based Phone Server 500.Recorded speech at the phone server 500 is similarly transcribed usingautomatic speech recognition or manual transcription.

FIG. 23 illustrates another example user interface 23000 presented via abrowser (or other interface application). This example user interfaceenables a user to attach a scanned receipt or warranty to a selecteditem. This example web dialog box is presented in response to a userclicking on the receipt icon 22100 of FIG. 22.

The user is instructed to scan in the desired item and then to clicklink 23100. The user is next requested to specify the path name orbrowse to the scanned in stored receipt. In this example, the specifiedfile is then downloaded across the data network 400 and stored in theuser account database 700

Optionally, the user can invoke the program 800 on their mobile deviceand take a picture of the receipt/warranty information. The program 800optionally prompts the user to enter the location and item name.Optionally, the Home Inventory system assigns a unique identifier toeach location/item combination. Optionally, the user can enter thisunique identifier before or after taking a picture of thereceipt/warranty information. The receipt/warranty image(s) istransmitted to the web server 600 over the wireless network 300 and/ordata network 400 and stored in the customer database 700.

In this example, the Home Inventory servers 500, 550, and 600 areoptionally centralized at a given location, or distributed to a numberof locations. The Home Inventory system 900 can be a standalone system(e.g., a Home Inventory system used by a number of service providers) orthe Home Inventory system is integrated into a service provider'sinternal systems (e.g., those systems employed to provide users onlineinformation services). Optionally, the Home Inventory system is providedby a telecommunication carrier (e.g., Verizon) to service providers(e.g., Google or Intuit). Optionally, there are no charges to use theHome Inventory service. Optionally, the voice and/or data transactionsbetween a user's mobile device and one or more Home Inventory serversare not charged to the user but to the service provider ortelecommunication carrier. Optionally, the Home Inventory system 900 isconnected to a data communication network 400 and a wireless network300. The Home Inventory system interconnects with the wireless network300 using telecommunication interfaces (e.g., SS7) and via datacommunication networks using a secure router subsystem and an SMS serversubsystem which optionally serves as a mail relay to transmit andreceive SMS and MMS messages via a Short Message Service Center (e.g.,an SMSC operated by a network carrier). These subsystems of the HomeInventory system are optionally interconnected via a Local Area Network(LAN), a Private Wide Area Private Network (WAN), and/or a Public WideArea Network (e.g., Internet).

The Home Inventory system in this example contains centralized databasesand/or general-purpose storage areas, optionally including, but notlimited to a customer/user database(s) 700. Optionally, the database(s)is not centralized and may be distributed geographically and/or overdifferent systems. The database is optionally interconnected to theauthentication system via a Local Area Network (LAN), a Private WideArea Network (WAN), and/or a Public Wide Area Network (e.g., Internet).

Optionally, the Home Inventory system includes a presence managementsubsystem. Presence managers optionally authenticate and track anapplication's online presence and interact with a given application(e.g., a application hosted on a user's mobile phone) as information(e.g., passwords, location information, photos) is synchronized with thecentralized databases to provide the user secure, reliable, and timelydata transmissions and synchronized user interactions.

In this example embodiment and others, if the user changes their mobiledevice number (e.g. by purchasing a new phone from a new provider anddon't port their device number), they contact their Home Inventoryservice provider via the web or phone and re-register their new phoneidentifier.

Example Embodiment See FIGS. 2 and 3

FIGS. 2 and 3 depict a first example embodiment where a homeowner wantsto create an inventory of her personal property. In this example, thehomeowner accesses a Home Inventory service via the Internet from herpersonal computer, takes pictures of her personal property, downloadsthe pictures, and edits and/or organizes a presentation of her personalproperty.

State 1. The homeowner (user) accesses the Home Inventory (HI) serviceprovider web site. In this example, the user browses to the homeinventory web site using a personal computer 100 connected to datanetwork 400. Optionally, any data networking capable device can be usedby the user including for example, a mobile phone with data networkingcapabilities.

State 2. The HI service provider's web hosting server 600 receives theweb page URL 4100 and presents the login/registration web page 4000 tothe user (see FIG. 4).

State 3. With reference to FIG. 4, the user signals their desire toregister a new account by clicking the pull down window control 43000which opens registration window 5500 (see FIG. 5). The user next entersher name in the name field 5510, mobile phone number in the phone numberfield 5520, creates and enters a new password in the Password field 5530and indicates they live in a single level structure by selecting the“no” radio button option 5540. Optionally, if the user resides in amulti-level structure, they enter the number of levels (excluding thebasement) in field 5550. The user then clicks on the Download Now button5560 to submit their information to the hosting web server 600.

State 4. The hosting web server 600 receives the information entered bythe user and in this example creates a new customer account in the HomeInventory Database 700. In this example, one or more software programs800 are next downloaded from the HI server 600, over the data network400 and wireless network 300 and installed on the user's mobile device200.

State 5. The web server 600 notifies the user over the data network 400at the personal computer 100 that the software program download iscomplete and provides instructions to the user on how to activate thesoftware program 800.

State 6. The user follows the provided instructions to activate thedownloaded software program 800 on their mobile device 200. The software800 acknowledges the activation by sending a message to the web server600.

State 7. The application program 800 displays a welcome message 6000 andrequests the user select their first location 6100 (places wherepersonal property are located) to inventory, see FIG. 6 of an examplemobile device user interface screen.

State 8. In this example, the user selects the bedroom as the firstlocation to inventory. The user scrolls through the list of locationsuntil the “bedroom” is highlighted and then the option is selected.Other alternative interfaces could be used for location selection. Forexample, the user could have spoken “bedroom” to select the bedroomlocation. Or, each location could have had a number assigned which couldhave been dialed by the user. The user then proceeds to the next userinterface screen by selecting the “Next” button 6300. The updated userdata can be incrementally sent at the end of each state (as shown by thedashed lines in FIG. 2) or buffered locally in the mobile phone 200 andsent as a batch message to the HI server 600 at the end of datacollection (e.g. during state 12).

State 9. With reference to FIG. 7, since it is likely the user has morethan one bedroom, the software program 800 requests that the user assigna reference identifier such as a name or number to the bedroom. In thisexample, the user assigns the name “Luke's Bedroom” 7100 to the bedroom.The user then proceeds to the next user interface screen by selectingthe “Next” button 7300.

State 10. The user is then requested to stand in the center of the roomand click “Next”, see FIG. 8. In response to the user selection, theprogram 800 queries the mobile device/wireless network to determine theGlobal Positioning (GPS) coordinates of the location being inventoried.In this example, these coordinates are downloaded from the mobile device200 over the wireless network 300, either at the end of this state or atthe end of state 12. In another example, these coordinates are sentdirectly from the wireless network 300 and/or data network 400 to the HIserver 600.

State 11. In this example, the user's mobile device has digital cameracapabilities. The user is requested to photograph the contents of thelocation, see FIG. 9. Optionally, the user can take no pictures or asmany pictures as they choose. In this example, the user interfaceincrements 9100 with each picture of the bedroom. This is accomplishedthrough a programmatic interface between the digital camera capabilitiesof the mobile device and the software program 800. Again, the images canbe incrementally sent to the HI server 600 at the end of this state orat the end of state 12.

State 12. When the user is finished photographing the items in the room,she is requested to select the “Next” button 9300 as shown in FIG. 9. Inthis example, once the user has finished photographing the contents ofthe room and selected the “Next” button, all unsent data is transmittedfrom the mobile device 200 over the wireless network 300 through thedata network 400 (which can optionally be the same network as thewireless network 300) to the network-based server 600 for storage in asecure customer account database 700.

State 13. The HI server 600 processes each photo image to separateindividual items which are depicted by shape outlines 11310-11340 on animage item map rendition 11000 (see FIG. 11). The photo label 11200,initially created by the HI server, is shown at the top of therendition.

State 14. The HI server 600, in conjunction with the DSP servers 550,compares the item shape outlines to known item types to identify andlabel each item. The item labels 12310-12340 are added to the image itemmap 12000 as shown in FIG. 12.

State 15. Based on user preferences recorded in the customer's profilein the database 700, the item map is stored in the customer database 700using item outlines in the rendition 12000 or alternatively is convertedinto a line drawing 13000 using standard line drawings of eachindividual item type 13310-13340 (see FIG. 13).

State 16. The program 800 displays a screen requesting the user selectthe next location to inventory, see FIG. 10. In addition, there is amenu selection 10350 whereby the user can indicate that they arefinished.

The process states 8 through 16 are repeated until the user hascompleted their room by room inventory of personal items.

State 17. The user signals the Home Inventory system 900 that she hascompleted her inventory by entering the Finished 10350 menu selection.

State 18. Upon detection that the user has completed entering room anditem information, the HI server 600 uses the GPS room locations tocreate and store a rendition of the floor plan of the user's residence.The server 600 initially plots the room center points 14000 on a grid14100 as illustrated in FIG. 14. Recorded on the plot for each room isthe room label 14210, an indicator 14220 of the location of the centerpoint on the grid, and the x,y coordinates 14230 of the center pointrelative to the grid 0,0 origin 14100.

State 19. With reference to FIG. 15, the network-based server 600 nextuses coordinate map 14000 to create a rendition of the homeowner's floorplan 15000. Simple editing tools are provided for the user to change thelabels attached to the rooms in the floor plan and to resize the roomshapes.

State 20. In the event of multiple levels, the network-based server 600optionally creates side views 16000 of the residence structure tofacilitate user navigation. An example Home Inventory generated sideview is shown in FIG. 16.

State 21. After completing the image capture, the user can access thehome inventory service provider web site and login to view thedownloaded images and the floor plan created by the home inventorysystem (see FIG. 4).

The homeowner (user) accesses the Home Inventory (HI) service 900 bybrowsing to the home inventory web site using a personal computer 100connected to data network 400. The browser passes the web site URL 4100to the HI web hosting server 600 to initiate the process.

State 22. The web server 600 presents the login/registration web page4000 to the user (see FIG. 4).

State 23. With reference to FIG. 4, the user signals their desire tologin to their account by clicking the pull down window control 4200which opens login window 17300 (see FIG. 17). The user next enters hermobile phone number in the phone number field 17310 and enters herpassword in the Password field 17320. The user then clicks on the SignIn button 17330 to submit their information to the hosting web server600.

State 24. The hosting web server 600 receives the information entered bythe user and opens the customer's account in the Home Inventory Database700. The server 600 then sends a web page 18000 (see FIG. 18) to theuser's terminal 100 displaying the floor plan of the user's residence toallow the user to navigate through their inventory. This includes a sideview 18100, a top view of the ground level 18200 of the residence, and alink 18300 to select alternate views. Additional navigation controls areprovided to allow the user to select different floor plan levels (e.g.by clicking link 18110 to view the basement) and to focus on anindividual room (for example by clicking link 18210 to view the items inLuke's Bedroom).

State 25. In this example, after logging in, the user clicks link 18210in FIG. 18 to select “Luke's” bedroom to review and edit the contents ofthe location (or to modify the label assigned to that location).

State 26. FIG. 19 is an example web presentation display 19000 of theinformation stored in association with Luke's bedroom sent to the user'sbrowser by the HI server 600. The presentation is in a tabbed formatwith “Luke's Bedroom” the current open tab 19100. Optionally, other tabsacross the top include all of the locations (depending upon the numberof locations), or the higher-level abstraction of the different floorlevels.

State 27. In this example, the user decides to view a list of individualitems within one of the camera images. She clicks themaximize[+]/minimize[−] button 19300 associated with the image “LocationPict2”. This causes the photo item list to be displayed and the button19300 to enter the minimize[−] state. Each photo item list can besimilarly opened (maximized) and closed (minimized). The user nextrequests that the photo and associated item information be visuallydisplayed by double clicking the image identifier “location Pict2”19200. The request is transmitted back to the network-based server 600over the data network 400.

State 28. The network-based server 600 retrieves the selected image fromthe customer database 700 and displays the image on the user's dataterminal 100. An illustrative web display 21000 is shown in FIG. 21.

State 29. The user can now examine and modify the items identified inthe selected photo. A thumbnail 21100 of the original photo, the photolabel/identifier 21200, a line drawing 21300 of the identified photoitems, and a pallet 21400 of line drawing item types are displayed. Theuser next selects a single item to view by double clicking theassociated item label (for example, item label 21335 to select theloveseat). This user request is once again sent on to the HI web server600 for processing.

State 30. Upon reception of the above user request, the web server 600queries the database 700 to retrieve the requested item parameters whichare returned to the user's browser and displayed 22000 as illustrated inFIG. 22.

State 31. In this example, the user describes in further detail thepreviously selected item—the loveseat 21335 shown in FIG. 21. This isaccomplished by updating fields in a pop-up web form 22000 asillustrated by way of example in FIG. 22.

The pop-up web form 22000 prompts the user to enter a structured set ofitem information (e.g., label or title for the item 22010, the purchaseprice 22030, beneficiary 22040, etc.). In this example, there is also anote field 22050 for general information to be detailed by the userabout the selected item. When the user has completed her updates, sheclicks the Submit button 22300. This causes the browser to forward thefilled in form fields to the web server 600.

State 32. The HI web server 600 updates the database 700 with the newitem information.

State 33. The user signals the web server 600 that she is done managingher home inventory information by closing all associated HI web pages.

State 34. Upon detection that the user has closed their HI web pages,the web server 600 cleans up any incomplete open records and logs theuser account out of the system.

This example embodiment has illustrated methods and systems forproviding the user with an online inventory of their personal property.

In addition, it should be understood that certain variations andmodifications of the systems and processes described herein wouldsuggest themselves to one of ordinary skill in the art. The scope of thepresent invention is not to be limited by the illustrations or theforegoing descriptions thereof.

Finally, it should be noted that the language used in the specificationhas been principally selected for readability and instructionalpurposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribethe inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the presentinvention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scopeof the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of inventorying a residence using a user's mobile device, comprising: registering a user over a data network, using an inventory system; providing an inventory software program to the mobile device associated with the user, wherein the inventory software program is: preinstalled on the mobile device, transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, or, partially preinstalled on the mobile device and partially transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, and supports at least in part a user interface for providing instructions to the user and receiving responses from the user; providing an image capture instruction presented to the user via the mobile device user interface; receiving the user response to the image capture instruction presented on the mobile device user interface causing at least in part the receipt at the inventory system of: a first image wherein the image is sent from the user's mobile device, a geographic location of the user's mobile device wherein the geographic location is determined at least in part using GPS (Global Position Satellite) location information and corresponds to at least in part the geographic location of the mobile device at substantially the same time the first image was taken by the user using the user's mobile device, storing in computer readable memory the first image received from the user's mobile device and the geographic location associated with the first image; receiving the user response to the image capture instruction presented on the mobile device user interface causing at least in part the receipt at the inventory system of: a second image wherein the image is sent from the user's mobile device, a geographic location of the user's mobile device wherein the geographic location is determined at least in part using GPS (Global Position Satellite) location information and corresponds to at least in part the geographic location of the mobile device at substantially the same time the second image was taken by the user using the user's mobile device, storing in computer readable memory the second image received from the user's mobile device and the geographic location associated with the second image; determining, an address of the residence based at least in part on one or more of the geographic locations; storing in computer readable memory the address; determining an approximation of the dimensions of the residence based at least in part on the geographic locations; determining an approximation of the value of the residence based at least in part on the residence's location, approximate dimensions, or location and approximate dimensions; and, providing a display of the residence value via the mobile device user interface.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first and second images are one or more pictures, one or more videos, or any combination of pictures and videos.
 3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the second image is one or more images.
 4. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising: partly causing an instruction to be presented to the user on how to specify a room type; receiving at the inventory system one or more room types; and, further determining the approximate value of the residence based at least in part on the number and types of rooms.
 5. The method as defined in claim 4, the method further comprising providing a user interface via which the images and any specified room types can be viewed, edited, or viewed and edited is via one or more web pages.
 6. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising: partly causing an instruction to be presented to the user on how to specify a room type; receiving an audio communications from the user; interpreting the audio communications using speech recognition; and, further determining the approximate value of the residence based at least in part on the number and types of rooms.
 7. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising: determining, by the inventory system if the images contains one or more objects; comparing by the home inventory system computing device, the detected objects in the images against a collection of known objects stored in computer readable memory; further determining the approximate value of a the residence based at least in part on one or more the object comparisons.
 8. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising providing a user interface via which the user can associate (a) purchase receipts, (b) warrantees, (c) notes, or any combination of (a), (b), and (c) with the stored first image, second image, or first and second images.
 9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the residence is a home, a rental property, an apartment, or a commercial business.
 10. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising determining if the value of the residence has changed then updating the value of the residence.
 11. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising sending the residence value in a text message to the user's mobile device.
 12. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the residence value can be viewed on a computing device other than the user's mobile device.
 13. A system for inventorying a residence using a user's mobile device, the system comprising: one or more computing devices; nontransitory computer readable memory that stores program code that, when executed by the one or more computing device, performs operations comprising: registering a user over a data network, using an inventory system; providing, an inventory software program to the mobile device associated with the user, wherein the inventory software program is: preinstalled on the mobile device, transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, or, partially preinstalled on the mobile device and partially transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, and supports at least in part a user interface for providing instructions to the user and receiving responses from the user; providing an image capture instruction presented to the user via the mobile device user interface; receiving the user response to the image capture instruction presented on the mobile device user interface causing at least in part the receipt at the inventory system of: a first image wherein the image is sent from the user's mobile device, a geographic location of the user's mobile device wherein the geographic location is determined at least in part using GPS (Global Position Satellite) location information and corresponds to at least in part the geographic location of the mobile device at substantially the same time the first image was taken by the user using the user's mobile device, storing in computer readable memory the first image received from the user's mobile device and the geographic location associated with the first image; receiving the user response to the image capture instruction presented on the mobile device user interface causing at least in part the receipt at the inventory system of: a second image wherein the image is sent from the user's mobile device, a geographic location of the user's mobile device wherein the geographic location is determined at least in part using GPS (Global Position Satellite) location information and corresponds to at least in part the geographic location of the mobile device at substantially the same time the second image was taken by the user using the user's mobile device, storing in computer readable memory the second image received from the user's mobile device and the geographic location associated with the second image; determining, an address of the residence based at least in part on one or more of the geographic locations; storing in computer readable memory the address; determining an approximation of the dimensions of the residence based at least in part on the geographic locations; determining an approximation of the value of the residence based at least in part on the residence's location, approximate dimensions, or location and approximate dimensions; and, providing a display of the residence value via the mobile device user interface.
 14. The system as defined in claim 13, wherein the images are one or more pictures, one or more videos, or any combination of pictures and videos.
 15. A method of inventorying a residence using a user's mobile device, comprising: registering a user over a data network, using an inventory system; providing an inventory software program to the mobile device associated with the user, wherein the inventory software program is: preinstalled on the mobile device, transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, or, partially preinstalled on the mobile device and partially transmitted over the data network to the mobile device of the user, and supports at least in part a user interface for providing instructions to the user and receiving responses from the user; providing an image capture instruction presented to the user via the mobile device user interface; receiving the user response to the image capture instruction presented on the mobile device user interface causing at least in part the receipt at the inventory system of: an image wherein the image is sent from the user's mobile device, a geographic location of the user's mobile device wherein the geographic location is determined at least in part using GPS (Global Position Satellite) location information and corresponds to at least in part the geographic location of the mobile device at substantially the same time the image was taken by the user using the user's mobile device, storing in computer readable memory the image received from the user's mobile device and the geographic location associated with the image; determining, an address of the residence based at least in part on the geographic location; storing the address of the residence in computer readable memory; determining an approximation of the dimensions of the residence based at least in part on the address of the residence; determining an approximation of the value of the residence based at least in part on the residence's location, approximate dimensions, or location and approximate dimensions; and, providing a display of the residence value via the mobile device user interface. 